Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. This novel has two central plotlines: the mystery of Bertha Baumgartner’s will and Armand Gamache’s secret operation to find the missing carfentanil. How did the balance of the two affect your reading experience? Did one story resonate with you more than the other?

2. Kingdom of the Blind is the 14th book in the Chief Inspector Gamache series and continues plot points from the previous novel, Glass Houses. If you’re a longtime reader, how does this installment compare to others in the series? If this was your first Gamache novel, did you find it easy to jump into the story?

3. The novel blends the cozy, community-focused setting of Three Pines with the grim, high-stakes reality of the opioid crisis. How did this juxtaposition of tones affect your reading experience?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Gamache shares his mentor’s philosophy of life being like a “longhouse,” where all experiences, good and bad, must coexist without being compartmentalized. Does this idea of making peace with the past resonate with you? How do you make peace with your past?

2. Through the Baumgartners, the novel explores the legacy of generational grievance and inheritance. What family stories, myths, or long-held grievances have you observed being passed down through generations?

3. Gamache makes a morally ambiguous decision for the greater good and accepts an enormous personal and professional burden for it. Think of a time in your own life when you had to make a difficult decision and accept responsibility for its repercussions. How did you balance conflicting needs and morals in making the decision?

4. Have you ever felt the kind of institutional pressure that Jean-Guy Beauvoir faces, where loyalty to a person is pitted against the perceived need to protect an organization or even your own future?

5. The Baumgartner siblings grew up with their mother’s fantasy that she was a baroness entitled to a great fortune. In your own life, have you seen examples of how a shared, comforting belief, even if untrue, can shape a family’s identity?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The novel is grounded in the real-world North American opioid crisis, specifically mentioning the extreme potency of carfentanil. Did the book’s portrayal of the drug’s impact on communities and individuals change or deepen your understanding of this public health emergency?

2. The Sûreté’s internal investigation puts immense pressure on Beauvoir to become part of a narrative that makes Gamache a scapegoat. How does this storyline reflect the ways large institutions sometimes handle crises or failures? Have you seen real-world examples of this?

3. The final revelation about the Nazi-era reparations ties the Kinderoth/Baumgartner family’s personal conflict to a much larger story of loss and potential restoration. What does the novel suggest about the possibility of repairing historical injustices?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. The title alludes to the proverb, “In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” How did you see the novel’s exploration of perspective illustrated through characters like Gamache, Amelia, and the Baumgartner siblings?

2. Louise Penny alternates between the Three Pines mystery and the Montréal drug investigation. How does this dual-narrative structure compare to other crime series that blend police procedural with personal drama, such as Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad books, like In the Woods or The Trespasser?

3. The novel’s examination of deceptive appearances is central, particularly with Hugo Baumgartner, who uses his unassuming exterior to hide his crimes. In what other ways does the novel challenge your initial judgments about its characters?

4. What role does Clara Morrow’s painting of Ruth Zardo play throughout the novel? Consider its significance to the Baroness, Anthony, and Beauvoir.

5. How does the village of Three Pines function as more than just a setting? What does it represent in contrast to the institutional world of the Sûreté and the criminal underworld of Montréal?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. The Baroness chose outsiders as liquidators to achieve a specific goal of reconciliation that her own children couldn’t. If you were to create a will with an unconventional purpose, what qualities would you look for in the people chosen to execute it?

2. Imagine you are writing a short play about the moment Baron Kinderoth and Baroness Baumgartner first met at the nursing home. What would their conversation sound like as they navigate over a century of inherited animosity to find common ground?

3. If you were tasked with creating a visual art piece inspired by Gamache’s “longhouse” philosophy, what would it look like? What materials and imagery would you use to represent the idea of all life’s experiences coexisting in a single space?